Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — November 7, 2018

“My name’s Ralph, and I’m a bad guy. Uh, let’s see… I’m nine feet tall, I weigh six hundred and forty-three pounds. Got a bit of a temper…

Reader Question: Is a character’s transformation dictated by events or reactions to them?

“Change is not just what goes on inside a character, nor just what happens in the plot. It’s both. They are inextricably linked.”

Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages.

You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about screenwriting by doing these three things:

Songwriters on Songwriting: Jackson Browne

“I relegate everything to the creative act as being what I’m here to do. And so anything that helps is something that I incorporate into my…

Screenwriting 101: Bryan Woods

“With A Quiet Place, we weren’t comfortable writing the script until we knew that the theme was going to be about communication. We liked…

Daily Dialogue — November 6, 2018

Angie: I’d just like to say that Kate is always up in my ‘bidness.’ Kate: Well, when someone falls asleep with a curling iron in their…

Songwriters on Songwriting: Donovan

“You love a song and you play it, and you love it and you keep playing it. Then absentmindedly you discover a new little note that you want…

Learn the Craft

Being a screenwriter is much more than just writing a script.

On Writing

“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.”

Daily Dialogue — November 5, 2018

“I’m sorry, the stupid holidays are making me feel more divorced. The songs and the constant chocolate eating.”

Screenwriting News (October 29 — November 4, 2018)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

The Trouble With Thinking About ‘Character Flaws’

“All too often, I read scripts where the character flaw feels slapped on.”

Spec Script Deal: “Genesis”

Make Pictures and Bad Idea acquire science fiction thriller spec script “Genesis” written by Brian Michael Scully. Via Deadline:

Interview (Video): Steve Levitan

An 80-minute conversation with Steve Levitan, writer and executive producer of the NBC comedy ‘Modern Family.’

Daily Dialogue — November 4, 2018

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: What a filthy job. Igor: Could be worse. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: How? Igor: It could be raining.

Thanks, Larissa.

Anyhow, this was my 4th AFF as a panelist and moderator, and I guess I’ll keep doing it as long as the Festival continues to invite me.

Spec Script Deal: “Genesis”

Make Pictures and Bad Idea acquire science fiction thriller spec script “Genesis” written by Brian Michael Scully. Via Deadline:

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 365th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

Great Scene: “Network”

“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Support Group

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,824 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Video): Alex Cox

A 1-hour conversation with the writer-director of Repo Man and Walker.

Daily Dialogue — November 3, 2018

Clarence: Your brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine. George Bailey: That’s a lie! Harry Bailey…

Reader Question: Should I try to adapt my own book?

A book represents intellectual property and Hollywood is obsessed with IP, so what’s the best thing an author can do?

Screenplays are stories, not formulas

William Goldman has famously written, “Screenplays are structure.” That is true in a tangible sense because at some point, a script…

Songwriters On Songwriting: Willie Dixon

“How often do you write songs? / Well, whenever the various facts come to your mind that you think are interesting, it can do somebody some…